Seated comfortably in a bookstore café with a cortado and an oat bar, a wave of anxiety hit me as I activated my phone’s hotspot. What if the network name revealed too much? Could it possibly broadcast something like “ALLISON’S TRUMP PHONE”? Might someone nearby, perhaps enjoying a matcha, notice it and form judgments about me?

Thankfully, my fears were unfounded. The default network name appeared as “Allison’s S25,” a nod to the Samsung Galaxy model I was using, rather than anything politically charged. Yet, the experience encapsulated a peculiar discomfort I felt all day while using my Trump Wireless plan for texting, calling, and scrolling.

I was taken aback to see the Trump name prominently displayed instead of Liberty Mobile, the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) that Trump Wireless utilizes. Those five letters boldly appeared under my SIM settings upon installation and prominently on my status bar whenever I checked notifications.

Without any intentional irony, I ended up using Trump Mobile for activities that seemed at odds with the Trump brand. Whether it was checking on a library hold, navigating public transit, grocery shopping at a co-op, or finding an independent bookstore, the service performed reliably. Still, having “Trump” in the network indicator added an uncomfortable layer to these everyday tasks.

While I have numerous objections to the principles associated with the Trump name, the wireless service itself functioned adequately. My Galaxy S25 often showcased a 5G signal, and Trump Mobile, operating on T-Mobile’s infrastructure, provided excellent coverage in Seattle, T-Mobile’s headquarters. In fact, I experienced faster download speeds on the S25 with Trump Mobile than with my own Verizon plan on an S25 Plus. Despite costing significantly less at $51.99, after taxes, compared to my Verizon bill, the service is officially priced at $47.45—a clever nod to Trump’s presidential terms, albeit slightly inflated for tax reasons.

As it is wont to, the Trump Organization has slapped its name on a product that was already well established — in this case, T-Mobile wireless service. To be fair, that’s basically how an MVNO works, so it’s not surprising that the network part of the product works quite well. Everything else, though, has been a little hit-and-miss. There was the case of my missing SIM card, which was not great. But the problem was resolved by some kind customer service folks, and once I had the card in hand, I was able to get service started on my own, by putting the card in my phone, logging into my account, and typing in some numbers in the right place.

But there are little red flags here and there suggesting that maybe Trump Mobile doesn’t have it all together. The hours given for the customer service line listed on the SIM kit I got differ from what’s on the website, which is different from the actual hours given when you call. The instructions on the SIM packaging tell you to go to TrumpMobile.com/activate, but that page throws a 404 error. The instructional video that tells you how to install a SIM card looks suspiciously AI-generated (and I swear to god that voice-over sounds like Dieter). It all feels slapped together and inconsistent. Icky, indeed.